Alfonso de Portago
| Born | 11 October 1928 |
|---|---|
| Died | 12 May 1957 (aged 28) |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 Spanish |
| Active years | 1956 – 1957 |
| Teams | Ferrari |
| Entries | 5 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 1 |
| Career points | 4 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1956 French Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1957 Argentine Grand Prix |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bobsleigh | ||
Representing  Spain
|
||
| World Championships | ||
 |
1957 St. Moritz | Two-man |
Alfonso Antonio Vicente Eduardo Angel Blas Francisco de Borja Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton, Marquis of Portago, best known as Alfonso de Portago (11 October 1928 – 12 May 1957) was a racing driver from Spain.
Born in London, he was educated at Biarritz, in France. He became articulate in four languages. Portago was heir to one of the most respected titles in Spain and a millionaire. Among his ancestors were an explorer, a Governor of Madrid, and a war hero. His Spanish father was Antonio Cabeza de Vaca. He died during half time at a polo match at a young age. His mother was named Olga Leighton and was Irish. She also had a daughter named Sol. Olga's first husband, Francis John Mackey, was more than 40 years older than she was. He shot himself while terminally ill and left Olga an enormous fortune made as founder of Household Financial.
Portago was 1.83 m tall and weighed 77 kg. De Portago won a $500 bet at the age of 17 when he flew his plane beneath London Bridge. He participated twice in the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree as a gentleman jockey, although he found keeping his weight down to be a struggle.
de Portago began racing sports cars in 1953 after his meeting with the Ferrari importer in the USA, Luigi Chinetti, who asked him to be his co-driver in the Carrera Panamericana. He later raced alone in a personal Ferrari Sport model at the 1954 1000 km Buenos Aires. de Portago won six major races, including the Tour de France automobile race, the Grand Prix of Oporto, and the Nassau Governor's Cup (twice). In Nassau, during the winter of 1956, Portago trailed the car ahead of him by centimeters while travelling at 240 km/h. Portago used his skill to avert careening into a crowd after the driver ahead of him touched his brakes and both cars went into a 180 m skid. Among sports car enthusiasts, de Portago was known as a two-car man, because of the many burned-out brakes, clutches, transmissions, and wrecked cars for which he was responsible. He often needed several cars to finish a race.
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